


Deception

by Meginoi (Delirious99)



Category: Thomas Sanders
Genre: Angst, Emotional Manipulation, Gen, Mind Manipulation, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-17 02:29:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13649565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delirious99/pseuds/Meginoi
Summary: Virgil had just began to believe he was being accepted, like he was finally part of the group...until everything came crashing down.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had this in my drafts for ages but i never got around to writing it. It got super angsty super fast!  
> Warnings: Manipulation, being drugged, verbal attacks  
> Prompt: "Why do you hate me?"

Thomas sat on the couch, head in his hands. It hadn’t been a good day, Virgil was definitely making his presence known. Yet, Thomas had no idea why. He hated it when the side was just…vague. The silence in the room should have been blissful after non-stop video editing the day before but it felt anything but. It felt like his thoughts were twice as loud as usual and purposely trying to slowly drive him insane.

He sighed and took a drink from the glass in front of him, hopefully the cold water would help him to relax. No sooner had the glass left his lips when he started to feel dizzy. Something wasn’t right. His vision started to fade to blackness before he passed out completely, unconsciously slumping against the couch…

* * *

The other sides had been understanding about the way Virgil had been acting, sometimes he just had bad days, but they didn’t have a constant assault on anxious thoughts on their brain. Thomas hated it…but he was starting to get sick of it.

_‘Why are you just sitting here?’_

_‘You’re wasting time.’_

_‘Do something, anything!’_

_‘Get up. Get up! GET UP!’_

Thomas growled in frustration, lifting face from his hands and shouting for Virgil before hiding his face in it again. This was ending, and it was ending now.

In the mindscape, Virgil wasn’t doing much better. He had been holed up in his room for the past week, the sights and sounds outside proving too much for him to handle. Usually, the sensation of being overwhelmed would only last a day or two, three at most if it was especially bad. Yet, here he was on day seven with no sign of the feelings fading anytime soon.  

His room had stayed dark for those seven days, the only reprieve he got from the feelings that coursed through his chest and sent his mind into a panicked frenzy. Patton had come to check on him daily but had finally gotten the message that Virgil didn’t want to come out around day four. He hadn’t seen any of the other sides since.

As he felt the tell-tale tug of someone calling him, Virgil silently appeared, the hood of his jacket pulled up and his hands shoved deep into his pockets. His gaze was directed to the floor, a silent sign of his unease. Though it was impossible to see, his eyeshadow was darker than it had been in a good while. The signs were there if you looked for them.

Yet, Thomas saw none of them, too busy hiding his face in his hands. Virgil could never have answered the call and he wouldn’t have noticed.

“What now?”

Virgil’s voice jerked him out of his thoughts. He glanced over, jaw tightening in frustration.

“Why are you doing this, Virgil?” Thomas sighed, letting his hands drop from his face and fall into his lap.

Virgil sighed, fiddling with the sleeve of his hoodie. “It’s not on purpose. I don’t enjoy wallowing in anxiety either, you know. It just…happens sometimes.”

“Well isn’t there anything you can do? Just…chill out or something?”

“…chill out?”

“I don’t know! Can you stop questioning everything I say and do your job?” Thomas exclaimed, the last remnants of his patience crumbling like ancient stonework.

“I am doing my job Thomas,” Virgil insisted, his tone becoming less exasperated and more serious. “You can’t be chilled out all the time, even I know that’s not go-“

“-Why do you hate me?” Thomas interrupted, tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. He knew he was being unreasonable, deep down he knew it, yet it didn’t stop the emotional words forcing their way into the air. He just wanted the feelings to stop, was that so bad? In the situation, did it matter what he did, what he said to make them stop?

“Thomas…I don’t hate you. I’m doing my jo-“

“Well you must hate me! You can see the harm you cause but I’m still feeling  _your_  effects. You’re a monster,  _anxiety,_  and I hate you.” Thomas scowled, his hands balling into fists.

Virgil’s eyes widened as the tears started to freely roll down his cheeks, marring the dark eyeshadow and leaving black tear tracks in their wake. “I never thought I’d become the villain again,” he whispered, before disappearing back into the mindscape.

Thomas let the scowl remain until Virgil had long disappeared, sure in the fact that the anxious side wasn’t returning. The scowl disappeared, and a grin took it’s place, unease and malicious intentions rolled off the wearer in waves.

If anyone were there, they would have seen the worrying sight instantly. As the grin stretched menacingly across Thomas’ face, the figure quickly morphed and changed. Within seconds, Deceit sat in the place Thomas had been mere moments ago.

He smiled menacingly, letting his fingers link together in a villain-esque stance. His plan had worked like a dream. It had been too easy to knock Thomas out for a few hours in his distracted state, he really shouldn’t look away from his drink for a long period of time, or rather Deceit thought he should. He was also too easy to act as. Patton had been difficult, his bubbly personality just too harsh to keep up. But Thomas…he had been an easy disguise.

It had been the perfect moment for him to jump into action, Virgil was already having a bad day, making it practically effortless to break him with a few lies.

Now…all that was left to do was to isolate him from the other sides.

This was going to be all too fun.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a few people wanted a sequel to have a happy ending for the events of the first part but i wanted to make everyone suffer a bit longer so there’s probably going to be 2 more chapters after this.

Deceit hovered outside Logan’s door, a twisted plan quickly forming in his mind. The way he had been able to manipulate Virgil with ease had set off a dark train of thoughts.

The plan had been to hurt Virgil, only Virgil. But what if the others were as easy to twist and bend to his will? Sure, as a group it had been difficult, near impossible, but if he could get them on their own…

With a click of his fingers, the door to the logical side’s room silently locked. He wouldn’t notice for a few hours, Logan was always too wrapped up in his work. That was, unless Patton came by and forced him to take a break, and Deceit had a feeling that wouldn’t be happening for a good long while.

As he made his way towards Patton’s door, his form melted and changed. By the time he was knocking on the moral side’s door anyone walking by wouldn’t spare him a second glance, passing it off as Logan paying Patton a visit to talk about astronomy again.

“Come in!” A cheery voice called from inside. Deceit let a malicious smile twist his features before composing himself again and stepping inside.

“Good evening, Patton,” Deceit started, gaze falling on Patton, who was happily making a card at his desk. 

“Oh, hi Logan!” Patton beamed, standing and stepping away from the desk. “Is everything okay?” 

“We need to talk, Patton,” Deceit replied, straightening the tie for effect. This was too easy…

“Oh? What about? Is everything okay?”

“I’m not sure it is. I have reason to believe your behaviour is having an adverse effect on Thomas.”

“Oh no! Did I do something wrong?”

Deceit scowled, narrowing his eyes at Patton. The quicker he broke him, the better. “Are you really that dim? What haven’t you done wrong? You waste your time on foolish whims when you could be doing something productive! Honestly, Patton, is that really what you want to be, a hinderance to Thomas?!”

“No, not at all! I always try to help, Logan, I really do! It’s just…hard for me to be something I’m not,” Patton retorted, tears filling his eyes.

Deceit took his time to speak again, letting the atmosphere grow tense under the suffocating silence. “You don’t want to change do you?”

“I do, Logan, I do!”

“No you don’t! You’re a failure, and I’m ashamed to call you my friend,” Deceit spat, lips curling back into a disgusted snarl.

Patton started to sob, tears freely running down his cheeks. His hands flew to his mouth in a vain attempt to muffle the sounds but it had little effect.

Deceit turned to leave the room. He had done what he had come here to do. The moral trait was so desperate for acceptance from Logic, from any of the sides, that he’d do anything. It had made breaking him all the more easier, and all the more fun. He had no need to do the same to Logan, he was sure Patton would do the job for him the next time they saw each other. Deceit would be sure to be there to see the sparks fly, popcorn in hand.  

As he reached for the door handle, a shaky hand wrapped around his wrist. His head whipped around to find a desperate, broken Patton clinging to him.

“Please, Logan! I just want everyone to be happy. Is that so wrong? We can talk about this. I don’t want us to fight.”

Deceit looked away, as though he was considering Patton’s words. He turned back to Patton, the scowl still twisting Logan’s features into something twisted and foreign. “Let go of me,  _Morality_.”

Patton’s grip on him loosened and he sunk to he floor in defeat. His sobs increased in intensity, hightening to a crescendo of heartbroken wails and sobs.

Deceit flung open the door and stormed out, slamming the door loudly and muffling Patton’s grief. Only then did he let the persona drop, a wide grin splitting across his face. Now, it was time to sit back and let the sparks fly.

* * *

The raised voices reached Deceit’s ears about an hour later. He smiled, the next stage of his plan had gone into action. Logan and Patton would tear each other apart, and he would stand by and enjoy the show.

He sunk down from his room, reappearing in the shadows of the hallway where Patton and Logan stood. Patton had stopped crying, his eyes still puffy and red, though the tears that gathered in his eyes threatened to start their onslaught again at any second. Logan looked shaken, forced into a confrontational situation he had no idea about.

“I didn’t lock you in your room! And how could you say those things? I trusted you!” Patton exclaimed, the betrayal and sadness he felt easy to see.

“Who did then? Roman is on an adventure and we haven’t seen Virgil in days. You need to calm down. I have no idea what you’re-“ Logan started, holding his hands up in a calming manner.

“- It wasn’t me! And stop lying to me! I’m not as stupid as you think I am!”

“Patton, your emotions are getting the best of you. You need to calm-“

“-Oh yes, because I’m such a hindrance to Thomas, aren’t I  _Logic,_ ” Patton spat, the tears that were in his eyes now dripping down his face. “At least I have emotions. It’s better than being a robot!”

Logan physically recoiled. His arms dropped to his sides, his hands curling into fists. “That’s over the line, Patton,” Logan replied, voice dropping to a whisper.

“You were over the line earlier!”

“I’m going to give you time to get over your tantrum. Come find me when you’re ready to talk like adults.”

Logan turned, walked back towards his room, and slammed the door, leaving Patton in the hallway. Patton sobbed, turning back to his room and silently closing the door.

Deceit laughed, sauntering confidently along the corridor. Their little family was coming closer to falling apart, and he would be there to watch when it crumbled…


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, finally towards the home stretch! I wrote this in a few hours after being hit with inspiration. Warning that Deceit does appear in this!

Roman stood in the middle of the mindscape, taking in the silence. It was so quiet, unnaturally quiet. There was no slight hum from Patton as he cooked, no tinny echoes of music from Virgil’s headphones, no drone of the TV from one of Logan’s space programs. There was…nothing.

Roman took in the silence, it was almost echoing in his ears. Something was wrong, very wrong. First, Virgil had done an entire turn on his attitude and locked himself away in his room again, then Patton and Logan did the same. Sometimes, he’d walk past Patton’s room to hear muffled sobs coming from the other side. The first few times he’d heard it he had tried to come to the fatherly trait’s rescue, threatening to smite anyone or anything that dared to make him cry, but Patton had quickly declined, pasting on a cheery tone and insisting he was fine. Roman had given up after the fourth attempt.

He hadn’t a clue what was going on. They had all been getting on so well, even Virgil had given in and agreed they were a family, now they were further apart than ever. No, he wouldn’t stand for it! He would put an end to this, he would save his family. He was a prince after all, and that’s what princes did.

A slight creak emanated from the end of the hallway Roman was standing in. He glanced over his shoulder, towards the noise. Virgil’s door was ajar and a shock of purple hair with watery eyes was peeking out from inside.

“Roman?” Virgil’s voice was weak and unsure. The eyeshadow under his eyes was the darkest Roman had ever seen it, making it seem like he hadn’t slept at all since he had locked himself away.

“Virgil,” Roman started, keeping his voice low, “what’s plaguing you? It’s been a week since I’ve seen you, since any of us have seen you.”

“I-uh-it’s just-um-“ Virgil stuttered, hands reaching down to twist around the fabric of his hoodie.

“It’s okay, you don’t need to talk about it right now if you don’t want to. Just come to the commons with me? You need to get out of that awful room.”

Virgil gave a shaky nod before pulling open the door and walking to Roman’s side, instantly bumping shoulders with him.

Roman looked down at the side standing close to him in confusion. Virgil had never been one for any amount of physical contact or affection, so why was he close all of a sudden? He sighed quietly, brushing off the thought and helping Virgil into the commons.

Only once they were in the commons was Roman able to put some distance between himself and Virgil. He sat the anxious trait down on the couch before rushing into the kitchen and pouring a glass of water.

Virgil shifted, looking uncomfortable. His eyes flicked to Roman before looking down again, a smirk stretching maliciously over his face before disappearing entirely, as it had never even been there.

Roman returned, handing the glass of water to Virgil before sitting down beside him. They sat in silence for a few minutes, just taking in each other’s presence. Both had been alone for a week, it was now odd to be in the presence of another.

“I guess I should explain why I’ve been hiding,” Virgil’s voice broke the silence, still a little unsure and quiet.

“An explanation is needed, but I shall give you as long as you need to think it over.”

Virgil paused for a second, absentmindedly chewing on his lip. “Something happened. I haven’t been able to face them since.”

“Face who? What are you talking about?”

“Them, Roman!” Virgil exclaimed, before dropping his voice to a whisper, “the others.”

“What? You mean Patton and Logan?”

Virgil nodded his head vigorously. “They turned on me, Ro. They told me I never have been or will be part of this family. I can’t face them.”

Roman’s mind was whirling. That didn’t sound like Patton and Logan at all. They would never do that, especially not to Virgil. Patton adored him, Logan wasn’t so far behind in his affections, though he kept it well hidden. That just couldn’t be true. But why would Virgil lie? He had no reason to. Unless…oh no. It would hurt Virgil if he was wrong, but he had to try, he couldn’t take any chances.

“I’m sorry, Virgil, but I don’t believe you.”

“What? Why would I lie? Please, Ro, you’ve got to believe me!” Virgil exclaimed, shooting forward and grabbing Roman’s arm.

Roman jumped to his feet and wrenched his arm out of Vigil’s grip, as if he had been burned. Oh no, no no no no, this wasn’t good at all. He had almost been duped, how stupid of him! He stared at the shocked side with an expression of betrayal. “You’re not Virgil, are you?”

“Of course I am! Don’t be stupid, Princey,” Virgil spat, the desperation that had been in his eyes turned cold, defensive.

“No, you’re not fooling me this time. Patton and Logan would never do that, they love Virgil too much to hurt him. Virgil would never grab my arm like that, it’s not his style. The game is up, you can show yourself,  _Deceit_.”

Virgil sighed exasperatedly, with a flick of his wrist, Deceit sat there. He leaned back, relaxing into the sofa as he absentmindedly pulled at his gloves.

“I knew it. Stand and face me, you coward!” Roman shouted, summoning his sword into his hand.

“You should be more dramatic more often, Roman, it’s really becoming,” Deceit drawled, staying sat in the sofa.

“I’m not falling for your lies this time, you fiend! What evil plan have you hatched his time?”

“Nothing at all, Roman.”

“That’s a lie! You’re the reason for all this, aren’t you? You’re the reason Virgil hasn’t left his room in a week, why Patton has been crying in his room, why Logan won’t even open his door.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“A-ha I’m onto you! I won’t let you get away with this.”

“I’d like to see you try, Princey. Good luck,” Deceit replied before sinking down and out of sight.

Roman growled in frustration, letting his sword drop to his side. This wasn’t good, this wasn’t good at all. He needed to do something, fix the mess Deceit had made. But how? There was no way any of the other sides would answer his call, he’d already made many desperate attempts. He started to pace, wracking his brain for ideas.

It could have been five years or five seconds, Roman had no clue. Yet, he gasped as an idea shot through his brain. Of course, why hadn’t he thought of it before? It was so simple! He needed to talk to all the sides at once. He needed to talk to Thomas.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last chapter! I had real problems with this because i had no idea where i wanted it to go, i’m still quite unhappy with the ending. I apologize for any spelling or grammar mistakes but i am super tired. Thank you to seas-space-and-stardust for helping me with this part, you’re a lifesaver! Warning that Deceit does appear in this!

Roman appeared in his usual spot in Thomas’ living room. Looking around frantically, he saw nothing. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion, the living room was silent and empty. This was odd…really odd. At this time of day, there should be at least some sign on life, the slight drone of the TV or the quieter audio from a laptop. Not this desolate sight.

Roman looked around, surveying the sight once more. If Thomas wasn’t here then where could he be? Logic was the best at this type of thing, not him. He sighed, steeling himself, If Logan was here what would he do? What would he look for?

For a third time, Roman looked around, this time looking for details he would have skimmed over before. Everything looked dimmer than it usually did, probably due to the blinds that were still pulled in the late afternoon, the table was-

-Wait! The blinds were still pulled. Thomas would never leave them closed in the day unless… Unless he was still sleeping.

Roman bolted up the stairs, making a fair amount of noise as he went. He skidded across the landing, almost tripping as he threw open the bedroom door. “Thomas! What do you think you’re doing?!” Roman exclaimed, storming up to the sleeping figure and placing his hands on his hips.

“Ngh, sleeping,” Thomas mumbled, burrowing deeper into the duvet.

“It’s five in the afternoon, you need to get up!”

“No point.”

“We need to talk!”

“We…can talk…later.”

“You are incorrigible! Well, if you’re not going to get up by yourself I’m going to have to get you up myself,” Roman threatened, storming from the room. By the time he returned, Thomas was lightly snoring again. Roman sighed, adjusting his grip on the bucket in his hands. “Thomas, this is your last chance to get up.”

The room stayed quiet.

“Okay then, you asked for it.” Roman raised the bucket over his head and tipped, sending the water inside cascading down over Thomas.

Thomas let out a high-pitched shriek, scrambling away from the freezing water. “What the heck, Roman!” He exclaimed, clambering out and standing, shivering, on the opposite side of the bed.

“I warned you if you didn’t get your butt out of bed I was going to have to take action!”

“Well you didn’t have to throw water on me!”

“It was the only thing I could think of!”

Thomas sighed, shuffling over to a nearby set of drawers and pulling out dry clothes. “Okay, why was so important that you needed to wake me up? The sooner you tell me the sooner I can go back to sleep.

“It’s an emergency Thomas! Deceit has been causing strife like the monster he is.”

Thomas turned, confusion knitting his brows together. “What do you mean? What has he done?”

“I-I think he’s gone after Patton, Logan, and Virgil, impersonated them. He even came after me…me! He thought he could trick me but I will up a stop to his evil doing! But Thomas…I need your help.”

Thomas sighed, pulling the t-shirt over his head, “Okay, Roman. It sounds mad but I would put it past Deceit. Can you call the others? I need to get changed because someone threw water on me.”

“Ah, there might be a problem there…”

“What now?”

“No one will answer me. I tried but they are hell bent on ignoring me.”

Thomas sighed, scrubbing at his face with his hands. “This isn’t good. We need to fix this.”

“Y’think?”

—————  
Roman anxiously fidgeted at the base of the staircase. What was taking Thomas so long? They were running out of time! The longer they tarried the longer the others had to wallow in their misery, and Roman wouldn’t stand for that.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of footsteps descending the staircase. Thomas made his way to the couch, falling unceremoniously onto it before letting the silence linger.

“Well?” Roman started, placing his hands on his hips, “what are we hanging around for?”

“I guess your right,” Thomas sighed, “but where do we start?”

“Well, at the beginning would be good.”

“Very funny. I meant how do we go about convincing Patton, Logan, and Virgil? How did this all start?”

“Virgil was the first to start acting strange, stranger than normal, I mean. I think I recall him going to see you.”

“Me? I don’t understand. I haven’t seen Virgil in-“ Thomas turned to Roman, the horror of realisation appearing in his expression.

“Virgil didn’t speak to you did he?” Roman whispered, afraid it would be true if he spoke too loud.

“No he didn’t,” Thomas replied, voice also lowering to a whisper.

“Virgil!” Roman shouted, the call seeming louder after the hushed tones moments before. The two looked to his place on the stairs, yet it remained empty.

“VIRGIL!” Thomas shouted, his voice becoming laced with a sense of desperation.

“What? Want to remind me that I’m the villain again? Don’t bother, I already know.” Virgil’s sharp words hung in the air.

“Virgil! Thank goodness you answered!” Roman exclaimed.

“Princey? What’re you doing here?”

“I’m here to tell you you’ve got it wrong. You’re not the villain at all!”

“Oh really? Tell that to-“

“It wasn’t Thomas who said that, it was Deceit!” Romas exclaimed.

“Did you really think I’d say that to you, Virge?” Thomas cut in, standing from his spot on the couch.

“I mean, I guess not, but at the time it just kinda…hurt. I always aimed to protect you but it felt like I was back to square one, back to being the villain again.”

“That’s not true at all. You’re one of the family,” Thomas smiled.

“Thanks, I guess,” Virgil replied, unconsciously raising a hand to anxiously rub at the back of his neck. “I can’t believe I fell for Deceit’s tricks.”

“You have no need to worry, we don’t think you were the only one,” Roman responded.

“What do you mean?” Virgil asked, worry creeping into his voice.

“We think Deceit may have targeted Patton and Logan too,” Thomas explained, as Virgil’s expression contorted into one of horror.

“And that is why we need to fix this, and quickly,” Roman added, looking to Thomas.

“Right,” Thomas agreed as he called out for Patton. There was a need for a second call before Patton rose up, looking as happy as ever.

“Hey, Kiddo! Are we filming another video?” He asked, the happy tone his voice held a slight bit too upbeat to be real.

“Not today, Pat. We need to talk to you,” Thomas replied.

“Oh sure! About what? I’m all ears!”

“About Deceit,” Roman provided.

“D-Deceit? What about him?” Patton voice faltered for just a second but it was long enough for the others to notice.

“We think he…tricked you,” Roman mumbled, not able to meet Patton’s gaze.

“W-what? You mean that wasn’t Logan?”

“Woah. What wasn’t Logan?” Virgil cut in.

“H-He came to me, a few nights ago. I thought we were fine. Everyone was getting along, we were all happy! Then Logan came by, said his piece, and left. It was no big deal,” Patton explained, yet his eyes told otherwise as they filled with tears.

The others stood there in shock, letting Patton’s words sink in. They all know whatever Logan had said, it wasn’t good, despite Patton’s reassurances.

“Pat…what did he say?” Virgil cut in. To Roman, the anxious trait’s own thoughts and worries almost physically left him, too visibly engrossed in his worry for Patton.

“No no no no no no, I can’t say it,” Patton babbled, hiding his face in his hands.

“Please Patton, we’re only trying to help,” Thomas encouraged.

There was a moment where the only noise that punctured the silence was Patton’s muffled sobs. “H-He called me a failure. Said I was only a hinderance to Thomas. I thought we were one big family, family would never say those things!”

Roman resolutely shook his head before looking from Thomas to Virgil. They all shared the same look, that definitely wasn’t Logan. No matter how much the words had sounded like things Logan wold have said maybe a year or two ago, there was no way those statements would even entertain the logical side’s thoughts now. Patton had been tricked, like the rest of them.

“Patton, I can promise you that wasn’t Logan. Deceit, that fiend, tricked you,” Roman explained.

“He did? You promise it wasn’t Logan?”

Roman raised his hand to salute. “Prince’s honour.”

“Oh no, I was so mean to him! But I’m so glad it wasn’t actually Logan!” Patton exclaimed.

“Wait why? You still got tricked,” Virgil asked, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

“Well sure, what Deceit did was wrong but at least it wasn’t Logan saying those things!”

Virgil looked shocked but his expression gave way to understanding moments later.

“Well, I guess the only thing left to do is explain to Logan,” Thomas stated, looking to the sides.

“Ah, there might be a _little_ problem there,” Patton cut in, looking sheepish, “I thought he’d said all those horrible things and I got a little upset with him. I didn’t mean to! I just felt so…hurt.”

“It’s okay, Patton. I’m sure Logan will understand once we explain what happened,” Thomas assured, looking confident in his statement.

Unlike Virgil and Patton, Logan rose up immediately. His usual stoic persona seemed more intense at that moment, his lips pulled into a thin line of barely contained frustration. Roman could immediately tell from Logan’s expression, this wasn’t good at all.

“Yes Thomas? Is there something you need?” He asked, seemingly effortlessly ignoring Patton as he gave a polite shake of his head to Virgil and Roman.

“We need to talk, all five of us,” Thomas replied, both looking and sounding stern.

“What about? There are no pressing issues are there?”

“Actually there’s one. Deceit.”

“Deceit? I thought that snake had gone crawling back to the hole he dragged himself out of.”

“We all thought so too, but apparently not,” Roman interjected.

“Could you be a little more? This build of dramatic attention has no effect on me.”

“I guess I’ll get straight to the point then,” Thomas sighed, “Deceit’s been trying to isolate us all, break our trust. He started with Virgil, disguising himself as me to hurt Virgil. He then moved onto Patton, masquerading as you to get to Patton.”

“Me? That’s improbable, he would have a considerable amount of trouble putting on a convincing act.”

“Not so much, apparently “ Roman mumbled.

“What?” Logan asked, turning to Roman.

Patton took a deep breath before speaking in a shaky voice. “He looked like you, I thought he was you, and he said such horrible things. I’m so sorry I said those things to you Logan and it’s no excuse but I was hurting. I thought I’d lost my family, I thought I’d lost you.”

Logan let his eyes fall on Patton for the first time since appearing in the room. The cold detachment in his eyes melted away at his words. He knew that Patton wouldn’t lie about something like that, it wasn’t in his nature.

Logan let a small smile upturn the corners of his mouth, more for Patton’s benefit than to show his own feelings. “It’s alright Patton, I forgive you. You acted emotionally but so did I. I shouldn’t have said the things I did and slammed the door. I hope you can accept my apology.”

“Oh Logan, of course I can!” Patton exclaimed, his usual bright smile returning. “I love you all so much!”

“We love you too, padre,” Roman murmured as the others all offered similar responses.

“How about next time we all just talk to each other?” Thomas laughed as the sides all smiled and agreed to talk to each other the next time there was a problem.

Sure, afterwards they all went to confront Deceit but, even without the revenge, they were stronger as a team. As a famILY. And none of them would forget it any time soon.


End file.
